1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mirror provided at the exterior of a vehicle compartment, and particularly to a mirror which is favorable as a door mirror provided near a door at the side of a driver""s seat or a passenger seat.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of mirrors for confirming the rear of a vehicle from the inside of a vehicle compartment is a door mirror provided at the side of a door of the vehicle. An example of such a door mirror is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication (JP-Y) No. 4-33157.
As shown in FIG. 15, a door mirror 300 disclosed in JP-Y No. 4-33157 includes a visor cover 302 (which is referred to as an xe2x80x9celastomer mirror bodyxe2x80x9d in the disclosure) which has a dome shape and is open toward a substantial rear of the vehicle in normal use (i.e., during traveling of a vehicle). A visor rim 304 (which is referred to as a xe2x80x9cvisorxe2x80x9d in the disclosure) is mounted to the interior of the visor cover 302. The visor rim 304 is formed in a shape of a case having a shallow base and has a surrounding wall 306 whose shape is similar to that of an opening of the visor cover 302. A mirror main body (mirror) 312 is provided inside the surrounding wall 306 and near the opening of the visor cover 302.
Further, mounting pieces 314 which are hook-shaped and formed so as to protrude from an inner bottom of the aforementioned visor cover 302 pass through a bottom portion 308 of the visor rim 304. Each of the mounting pieces 314 is fastened to the bottom portion 308 of the visor rim 304 by a screw 316.
Moreover, surrounding walls 318 (which are referred to as xe2x80x9csleeve-shaped double wall portionsxe2x80x9d in the disclosure) which are toroidal in shape are formed at open ends of the visor rim 304 so as to extend therefrom. A marginal portion 32 of the visor cover 302 is inserted and fit between each of the open ends of the visor rim 304 and each of the surrounding wall 318. The marginal portion 320 is thinner than the remaining portion of the visor cover 302, and the sum of the thickness of the marginal portion 320 and the thickness of the surrounding wall 318 roughly corresponds to the thickness of the remaining portion of the visor cover 302.
As shown in an enlarged view of a circle portion in an alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 15, in the above-described structure of the door mirror 300, an abutting surface 322 of the visor cover 302, which faces the surrounding wall 318 at a portion further toward the bottom portion 308 than the marginal portion 320, faces a rim side abutting surface 324 of the surrounding wall 318, which faces the cover side abutting surface 322, in a substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Therefore, a portion 326 at which the cover side abutting surface 322 and the rim side abutting surface 324 abut each other is exposed at outer peripheral surfaces (i.e., the surfaces) of the visor cover 302 and the visor rim 304.
Further, in the door mirror 300 described above, both of the visor cover 302 and the visor rim 304 are molded products which are formed of synthetic resin material. Dimensional control of such molded products formed of synthetic resin material is difficult because they are subjected to so-called shrinkage during molding. Thus, irregularities resulting from dimensional errors take place on the surface of the portion 326 at which the visor cover 302 and the visor rim 304 abut each other.
Furthermore, at the portion where the aforementioned dimensional errors are significant, as shown in the enlarged view of the circle portion in the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 15, a clearance 328 is formed between the cover side abutting surface 322 of the visor cover 302, which faces the surrounding wall 318 at a portion further toward the bottom portion than the marginal portion 320, and a rim side abutting surface 324 of the surrounding wall 318, which faces the cover side abutting surface 322.
When air flow W passes above the aforementioned irregularities or directly above the clearance 328 which is open to the outer peripheral surface, noise referred to as so-called xe2x80x9cwind noisexe2x80x9d is generated. Particularly, since the door mirror is provided at a position which is relatively close to the driver""s seat or the passenger seat such as a side of a door of a vehicle, there has been demand for reduction in or elimination of such noise during traveling of a vehicle.
In view of the aforementioned drawbacks, an object of the present invention is to obtain a mirror which can reduce or eliminate noise resulting from the air flow above the surface of a visor.
A first aspect of the present invention is a rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, comprising: (a) a mirror having a rear surface and an outer periphery; and (b) a visor which includes a visor cover for covering the rear surface of the mirror and a visor rim for surrounding the outer periphery of the mirror, said visor rim having an annular end portion; (c) wherein the visor cover has an annular end portion which engages with the annular end portion of the visor rim when the visor cover and the visor rim are assembled to each other, and wherein the engagement of the visor cover and visor rim annular end portions with one another forms a loop-shaped opposing portion as a boundary between the visor cover and the visor rim, said loop-shaped opposing portion facing a direction towards which a surface of the mirror is usually oriented.
A second aspect of the present invention is a rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, the rearview mirror assembly comprising: (a) a mirror having a rear surface and an outer periphery; (b) a visor which includes a visor cover for covering the rear surface of the mirror and a visor rim for surrounding the outer periphery of the mirror; (c) a connecting portion for mounting the mirror assembly to a vehicle, said connecting portion being structured with the visor cover and the visor rim at the time of assembling of the visor cover and the visor rim to one another; (d) wherein the connecting portion has an opposing portion forming a boundary between the visor cover and the visor rim when the visor cover and the visor rim are assembled to one another, with said opposing portion facing a direction toward which a mirror surface is usually oriented.
A third aspect of the present invention is a rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle, comprising: (a) a mirror having a rear surface and an outer periphery; (b) a visor which includes a visor cover for covering the rear surface of the mirror and a visor rim for surrounding the outer periphery of the mirror; (c) a frame accommodated within the visor cover and movably supporting the mirror; and (d) a cylindrical reinforcing rib provided between the frame and the visor cover and having an axis extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the rear surface of the mirror.